Christian Unity Archives - Page 5 of 17

A Friendly Reminder: “Come To Jesus” Is More Important Than “Come To Our Church”

April 23, 2018 / 1 minute of reading

Here’s a sincere question for my fellow pastors and other church leaders.

What if the members of our churches started sharing their faith, but it wasn’t in a way that brought more people to our specific church? Could we be okay with that?

If not, we may not be as much about kingdom growth as we think we are.

As people use social media to make new relationships and keep in touch with friends who have moved away, more aspects of our lives are happening without regard to geography. From crying with a friend going through a divorce, to celebrating the joy of childbirth, many of our most intimate moments are being lived through Facebook Live, Skype and FaceTime.

More people who share their faith are doing it online, too. Which means that the friends and family members they’re sharing it with are becoming less likely to be able to attend church together.

This has great potential for our church’s participation in kingdom growth, even if it doesn’t always result in the numerical growth of our local congregation.

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5 More Reasons To Go To Church In Person: Sight, Sound, Touch, Smell, Taste

April 18, 2018 / 1 minute of reading

If we want to get everything we can from our church experience, we need to show up in person.

That may seem obvious to most churchgoers, but there is a large and growing number of people who think that watching church online is all the church they need.

And no, this is not always because of laziness or lack of spiritual passion.

In a growing number of cases, it’s because they’ve been hurt deeply, sometimes repeatedly by church people. Or they’ve grown tired of a church experience that doesn’t seem to grow deeper with them.

But they still have a passion to follow Jesus. So they stay at home and watch online or listen to podcasts.

If what I’ve described sounds like your experience in any way, let me encourage you that, despite the downsides you’ve experienced, there are so many good reasons to go through the time and hassle of leaving your house and attending a church in person every week.

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What About Those Sheep-Stealing Megachurches?

April 3, 2018 / 1 minute of reading

There’s a lot of conversation going on about megachurches.

In my context of ministry to small churches, much of the conversation surrounds this question. Are megachurches actually reaching new people for Jesus, or are believers gathering into ever-larger groups, leaving crumbling smaller churches in their wake? (A phenomenon commonly called sheep-stealing or sheep swapping.)

Most of the time I hear these question, they come from a place of frustration and pain. Sometimes that pain has turned to anger – including anger at me every time I praise a big church.

These questions and concerns will only increase as megachurches keep getting bigger while small churches seem to struggle more than they used to. Since these two phenomena are occurring at the same time, it’s easy to think that one (megachurch growth) is the cause of the other (small church struggles.)

My take is that, while the two are related, it’s not a direct cause-and-effect.

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Is the Megachurch Era Over? Yes. And No. (And Other Contradictory Answers)

March 28, 2018 / 1 minute of reading

In recent years there’s been a lot of talk about the impending demise of the megachurch.

But is the era of the megachurch really drawing to a close?

I have four answers to that question:

Yes
No
I hope so
I hope not
Let’s look at these four contradictory responses one at a time.

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Yes, Our Church Still Calls It Easter – Here Are 5 Reasons Why

March 19, 2018 / 1 minute of reading

Wouldn’t it be great if Easter wasn’t called Easter? If everyone knew it as Resurrection Sunday instead?

But they don’t.

Our church uses both terms. But Easter is our church’s go-to term, not Resurrection Sunday. Especially when we invite people to join us.

Some ministers believe it’s outright wrong, even unchristian, to use the word Easter at all. If your church doesn’t use the word Easter, I’m not arguing that you should.

But before you criticize us for it, I hope you’ll hear me out.

Here are five reasons we call it Easter:

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Constructive Criticism: The Day A Staff Member Told Me I Was Preaching Too Long

January 31, 2018 / 1 minute of reading

Every healthy staff should be able to offer constructive criticize to other members, including the lead pastor, with that little amount of concern.

A healthy church fosters an atmosphere in which people feel free to express their ideas openly – especially at the leadership level.

A church staff that never criticizes or corrects their lead pastor is not healthy. Maybe they’re afraid to be honest. Maybe they lack creativity. Either way, without criticism, there’s information you need to know that you’re not being told. And that hurts everyone.

A pastor who places themselves above criticism is not a good leader. But even if you say people are allowed to disagree with you, but they never do, something is wrong.

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The Event Matters: How Going To Church Helps Us Be The Church

December 17, 2017 / 1 minute of reading

There’s a growing movement of people who say they can be a better Christian without going to church. They’re using the theology of being the church as an excuse for not going to church. That is misguided at best and disobedient at worst.

It’s dangerous to discount the value of church-going. And it’s unsupportable by scripture, which makes it clear that gathering with other believers is an essential aspect of faith. For instance, you can’t take communion alone – the word “communion” itself tells us that.

Your church-going experience may look nothing like mine. That’s okay. I’m not arguing for any particular format. But it matters that we go. It’s important – even essential – that we gather.

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Want To Reach Unchurched People? Don’t Create A Sense Of Urgency, Fight Against It

December 8, 2017 / 1 minute of reading

People have enough stress in their lives. They’ve had goods and services sold to them through a false sense of urgency so often that there’s a built-in distrust of it.

In western culture, the resistance to the church and the message of Jesus (not necessarily the same thing) is not primarily based on ignorance, anger or even stubbornness.

It’s apathy.

They’re not upset or worried, they just don’t care.

The uncommitted person isn’t waiting for a cue that “this is the weekend to get the deal of a lifetime at your local church!” They’re not thinking about it at all.

Not only is urgency not the antidote to apathy, it’s the enemy of importance. Of joy. Of community. And of curiosity.

Urgency doesn’t pull new people in, it reminds them of why they’re staying away.

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Messier Than Retail: Why We Need More From Church Than Excellent Customer Service

December 4, 2017 / 1 minute of reading

When I’m a consumer, I want great customer service.

Whether online or in real life, I want products and services that meet my needs in the best, quickest, friendliest manner possible.

But I don’t want that from church.

Sure, I’d rather experience a church service with passionate worship, strong teaching and friendly people than one with passionless praise, shallow teaching and a sour attitude.

But church is not about great customer service.

A great church experience should be about relationships.

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